But I find myself, while having fun, not advancing as fast as I'd like in my fighting skills.

Some things I could do to advance my skills are simply out of reach because of mundane reasons. I can't travel much, for instance. (This weekend is the coronation of HRH Sven and Antigone and I could get LOADS of helmet time if I could go, but I can't).

I know that I can get better if I do the work, but I am frustrated by the same issues coming up over and over again:

Not relaxing

Chopping my blows and not extending

Using my arms for power, instead of my hips

Lousy footwork

But enough of the 'pity party' thing - there are things I can do and I know what they are. They are just so HARD to get motivated to do alone!

It is time to get back to basics. I know this not only from my rattan fencing, but from my earlier, traditional martial arts training in Tae Kwon Do. In the words of Master Lee Jun-Fan, "I fear not the man who has practiced 10000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10000 times."

And so I will now attempt to get back to the basics. In my case, footwork, hip rotation and good biomechanics. This means slow work to get the muscle memory where it needs to be and (hopefully) drills with other fighters to build the reflexes to allow 'mind of no mind' in combat.